Meet the team
Dr. Angela de Bruin (she/her)
Angela is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of York and the project leader of MultiAge. She completed her BA in Linguistics and MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. In 2013 she moved to Edinburgh, where she completed her PhD in Psychology. Between 2016 and 2019, she was working as a postdoctoral researcher and Marie Curie Fellow at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Spain). In 2019, she started working at the University of York. Her research interests include bilingualism, language switching, language production, executive control, and cognitive ageing.
Dr. Nora Kennis (she/her)
Nora is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of York. She finished her PhD work, in which she studied the factors affecting language control in multilingual interaction, at the University of Edinburgh in 2025. Before that, she graduated with a BA in Linguistics and an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from Radboud University in the Netherlands. Her research interests include bilingual language production and language control as well as the interaction of language and other general cognitive functions in the multilingual brain. She is passionate about teaching young researchers and expanding our knowledge of language processing to contexts that more closely resemble real-life interaction.
Dr. Zlatomira (Zlati) Ilchovska (she/her)
Zlati is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology, University of York. She is also a part-time Teaching Fellow at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. She was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham. She graduated from her PhD at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. Her research interests include bi-/multilingualism as a possible cognitive/brain protective life-long experience, brain functioning/structure in dementia and healthy aging, cognitive control, and language control. She is also very passionate about Open Scholarship and doing and teaching better science.
Dr. Farah Nazir (she/her)
Farah completed her UG degree in English language, as well as an MA and PhD (2015) in Linguistics at the University of Manchester. Her PhD focused on the grammar of the Mirpuri-Pahari-Pothwari language and she continues to work on the grammar, as well as promoting the language and identity of Azad Kashmiris/Kashmiris/Pakistanis via her writing, literature and language festivals. She is currently a Research Project Manager at the University of York, supporting MultiAge. Prior to this role, Farah was a lecturer in Linguistics at Newcastle University (2021-2023) and Lecturer in Speech and Language Science at Leeds Beckett University (2016-2017). She took an academic break between 2017-2021, in which she was an editor and received a Postgraduate Certificate in Speech and Language science at City, University of London (2018). Farah’s research interests are in the grammar of Pahari-Pothwari, South Asian languages, multilingualism, language naming practices, identity and attitudes.
Mr. Imran Arif
Imran is currently Research Project Coordinator on the MultiAge project. He completed his BA in Social Sciences at Leeds Beckett University (2004), a PGCE Secondary Religious Education (2009) and his MA in Education at the University of Leeds (2015). Having established himself as a teacher at secondary level, he began lecturing at Leeds Becket University in Sociology and Social Psychology (2015-2017). Imran became involved in research work at the University of Leeds (2017-2018) and then at Coventry University (2021). He has also been involved in several community-based social-research projects, including as a principal interviewer, contributing to the largest national archive of oral histories from the Pahari-Pothwari language speaking Pakistani and Kashmiri (AJK) community in the UK. Imran’s research interests are reflected in the work he does and extend beyond the ones listed here. He is also particularly interested in the formation of multiple identities among diaspora communities.
Ms. Aishah Malik
Aishah is a psychotherapist who completed her postgraduate diploma in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy at the Psychotherapy Institute in Manchester in 2025. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science (2012) from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her interests focus on the psychological, emotional and relational aspects of health and ageing, including generational trauma. Her work is based on trauma-informed and relational approaches, with particular attention to culture, language and identity, and how these shape lived experience across the lifespan. She is especially interested in ageing, multilingualism, and the cognitive and emotional experiences of individuals navigating multiple cultural worlds.
Ms. Nighat Ahmed
Nighat holds an Honours degree in Pharmacology from the University of Sheffield. She spent over 14 years working in management roles within the Department for Work and Pensions before choosing to pursue her passion for health and community wellbeing. Nighat has worked with the Alzheimer’s Society in Rotherham, supporting the Mirpuri community. She has also collaborated with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trusts to engage the local Mirpuri mosque community in projects, leading to the establishment of a community group. Currently, Nighat works at Zest Community Centre as a Health Services Coordinator and has nearly 10 years of experience as a Health and Wellbeing Coach, developing and delivering community groups. She also works part-time with Youth and Family Alliance as a Women’s Group Leader, supporting women from diverse backgrounds and life experiences.
